ENNIS, Texas -
Notes from round 2 qualifying in Pro Stock at the 14th annual O'Reilly Fall
Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec listing lane, driver name, elapsed
time/top speed this round, position in order following run, best prior
elapsed time/speed, and position in order prior to run:
Left Lane: Mike Trumble Runs 6.974/197.84, Now #3; Best prior
run: 7.074/196.24, Was #16
Right Lane: Gary Wiggins Runs 7.098/193.42, Now #18; Best prior
run: 11.461/79.16, Was #25

It's really not that much cooler that when we ran the first
round, and the sun is still up, but judging by the times in the Pro Stock
Truck round, we're in for quite a bit of improvement in the e.t.'s
here. Left Lane: Darrell Alderman Runs 6.979/197.28, Now #4; Best
prior run: 7.018/197.41, Was #9
Right Lane: Richie Stevens Runs 8.897/106.58, Now #9; Best prior
run: 7.017/196.59, Was #8

Stevens gets in trouble early and aborts the pass, so he'll have
to wait until tomorrow to move up the ladder. Nice run by the Dodge, moving
all the way up to fourth. Left Lane: Bruce Allen Runs 6.906/199.51, Now #1; Best prior
run: 8.297/120.16, Was #24
Right Lane: Greg Anderson Runs 6.966/198.28, Now #4; Best prior
run: 11.186/79.64, Was #25

Great pass by Allen, here... he told us that they overestimated
the track in round one, and it looks like they learned their lesson well,
moving all the way to the top of the heap here. Anderson's pass isn't
exactly chopped liver, either. Left Lane: Ray Franks Runs 6.969/197.45, Now #5; Best prior run:
7.123/195.77, Was #22
Right Lane: Ed Heck Runs 7.063/196.03, Now #22; Best prior run:
7.263/169.93, Was #24

More of the same, as the ladder continues to shuffle. Left Lane: Warren Johnson Runs 6.913/200.13, Now #2; Best prior
run: 6.960/199.91, Was #3
Right Lane: Jeg Coughlin Runs 6.919/199.73, Now #3; Best prior
run: 6.991/198.41, Was #8

WJ had a brand new engine in for round one, and he's still
working on finding what it wants, tuneup-wise. This pair moves right in
behind Allen's Firebird for the second and third spots. Left Lane: George Marnell Runs 6.943/198.41, Now #4; Best prior
run: 11.872/73.87, Was #26
Right Lane: Tony Gillig Runs 6.960/198.41, Now #6; Best prior
run: 16.743/47.79, Was #31

More sixes, that makes ten so far. The bump is Allen Johnson's
7.042, already. Left Lane: Allen Johnson Runs 6.916/198.98, Now #3; Best prior
run: 7.042/197.19, Was #16
Right Lane: Mike Edwards Runs 6.934/198.50, Now #5; Best prior
run: 7.001/197.28, Was #11

Johnson moves the Dodge off the bubble here, with the best 60'
time of the day so far -- 1.038. WJ's was 1.044, by example. Left Lane: Jim Yates Runs 6.932/198.54, Now #5; Best prior run:
7.016/197.15, Was #14
Right Lane: Robert Patrick Runs 6.994/197.02, Now #14; Best prior
run: 7.043/196.42, Was #17

And Yates raises the "60-foot" bar, with his 1.035 this
lap. Left Lane: Arturo Delgado Runs 7.068/195.48, Now #21; Best prior
run: 7.114/197.15, Was #24
Right Lane: V. Gaines Runs 6.969/197.75, Now #11; Best prior run:
7.195/188.67, Was #25

Bump spot is down to Mike Thomas' 7.013, now. Left Lane: John Nobile Runs 6.947/198.54, Now #8; Best prior
run: 12.438/69.88, Was #29
Right Lane: Randy Jones Runs 7.053/196.59, Now #20; Best prior
run: 11.886/73.86, Was #28

Nobile makes it an all six-second show, moving the bump to
Patrick's 6.994. Left Lane: Ron Krisher Runs 6.974/197.49, Now #15; Best prior
run: 7.071/196.59, Was #25
Right Lane: Larry Morgan Runs 7.001/197.32, Now #18; Best prior
run: 7.077/195.48, Was #26

Morgan fails to crack the sixes with his Dodge, while Krisher
bumps the lone Ford. Left Lane: Troy Coughlin Runs 6.932/198.76, Now #6; Best prior
run: 15.798/84.30, Was #31
Right Lane: Kurt Johnson Runs 6.908/200.49, Now #2; Best prior
run: 7.060/198.06, Was #24

Kurt eclipses his dad, moving into the #2 spot by a mere 0.005
seconds here Left Lane: Joel Bayless Runs 8.696/109.01, Now #32; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Hurley Blakeney Runs 7.095/195.99, Now #28; Best
prior run: 14.912/91.13, Was #31

Bayless loses the engine on this pass, sending the Safety Safari
trucks out for a cleanup from half track on. The Safety Safari is using a
solution of Castrol Super-Clean and water to scrub this all-concrete racing
surface this weekend, unlike their typical application of rice hull ash.
The Super-Clean is applied with a machine resembling a wet street sweeper,
while the rice hull ash is scattered on the track, brushed in with brooms,
and then vacuumed up. Left Lane: Steve Schmidt Runs 6.947/197.88, Now #11; Best prior
run: 7.020/196.67, Was #23
Right Lane: Robert Harman Runs 7.071/195.10, Now #28; Best prior
run: 8.215/123.32, Was #31

Both cars leave, shake, and then coast... Left Lane: Mark Pawuk Runs 14.224/59.05, Now #27; Best prior
run: 7.071/197.58, Was #27
Right Lane: Tom Martino Runs 6.900/199.29, Now #1; Best prior
run: 6.952/199.02, Was #12

And Martino does it again, one of the best 60' times (1.032) of
the round once again and it translates into the #1 spot as we conclude this
round of qualifying. So we end up with Ray Franks' 6.969 as our bump spot,
with two more rounds left to go.